The Social Health Authority (SHA) has warned members of the public against fraudsters impersonating its staff to defraud unsuspecting citizens.
In a statement on Friday, November 7, SHA CEO Mercy Mwangangi said the fraudsters claim to assist Kenyans with SHA registration or expedited services for a fee.
“We are deeply saddened and concerned to learn that some members of the public have been defrauded by criminals impersonating SHA employees and conning unsuspecting Kenyans by claiming they can help with registration or speed up SHA services at a fee.
“Your trust is sacred to us, and it pains us greatly that dishonest individuals would exploit that trust for their own gain,” read the statement in part.
Mwangangi pointed out that SHA registration is free, and that the authority’s staff do not request payment or personal details from members of the public.
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The SHA CEO advised Kenyans to report any suspicious individuals or incidents immediately to the nearest police station or directly through SHA’s official channels
“Please know that SHA staff will never ask for money to offer service, or your M-Pesa PIN. If you or someone you know has been affected, we urge you to report the incident immediately to the police and to SHA through our official toll-free line 147 or the dedicated email [email protected],” Mwangangi added.
This comes days after detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrested four suspects who impersonated SHA officials and defrauded one unsuspecting victim of Ksh251,000.
According to the DCI, the four suspects posed as SHA registration officers and convinced their victim to sign up for a supposed membership program.
The victim was persuaded to surrender his phone for the registration, unaware that this would become the gateway to his financial loss.
Moments after handing over the phone, the victim realized something was amiss when his device abruptly went off and could not reconnect to the network.
What followed was a nightmare as his savings had been completely drained from his Sacco account.
"A total of Ksh251,000 had been siphoned out and transferred to mobile numbers linked to the impostors," DCI stated.
Following the complaint, detectives from Marimanti launched a manhunt that led to the capture of all four suspects.
Upon searching the suspects and their vehicle, police discovered evidence, including SHA-branded items and multiple SIM cards, directly linking them to the fraudulent scheme.
